INTERVIEW WITH THE DEAN SCHOOL STRATEGY
governance and how a board of directors works, but you give back with your knowledge; it’s a win-win experience,” Esteves enthuses. The move comes at a time when the PBS dean senses a change in the wind with respect to the types of careers sought by MBAs: “Sometimes they don’t think about NGOs because of salaries, but we were pleasantly surprised when students told us that they really want to contribute. I don’t know if it is because of the Covid pandemic or just the current state of the world but honestly, I think it’s the right moment to do more on this.” Esteves’ outlook on this topic extends to the type of candidate the school seeks to enrol: “The traditional consulting and finance perspectives are still good, of course, but we want people with different values in addition to those.” One example is a renowned music director currently enrolled at the school, whose work managing 200 members of an orchestra has brought useful insights to the class. “It’s a good example of how you can connect arts with soft skills,” the dean reasons, as he recalls the student’s contributions to discussions around managing complex teams in the context of the high levels of perfectionism and various egos one invariably finds in a leading orchestra. Infusing courses with sustainability Another example of the school’s efforts to tweak its learning approach is the [appropriately titled for this publication] Business Impact Challenge. Held for the first time earlier this year, international MBA students were tasked with developing a sustainability strategy for online cosmetics retailer Care to Beauty over four days. Set to run annually, the challenge takes place earlier on in an MBA programme than most of its equivalents at other schools. Esteves explains that this decision came partially in reaction to student feedback that detailed a desire for less emphasis on academics and time spent in class after completing their first term in the programme. “This is usually a programme’s final project, but we are trying to say, ‘You don’t have to wait until the end of the MBA to experience why and how you can solve problems,’” he adds. “That’s why we placed the Business Impact Challenge in the first week of the programme’s second term.” The challenge also forms an important part of the school’s efforts to integrate sustainability into the
is to give students the chance to contribute to the development and success of NGOs and the communities they serve. While in-company consultancy projects are not uncommon at MBA level, the tilt towards the third sector, where resources are often all too scarce, is an intriguing move for its potential to yield societal impact and benefits for both sides. “As a student, it’s about how you can use your expertise to contribute to that NGO. You learn about corporate
“We have made it mandatory to have at least one learning objective about sustainability in all courses”
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